Deadline: 8th August 2016

Organization: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda

Job Grade: NO-B

Reports to: Health Specialist (EPI)

Vacancy Number: 497959

About Us:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is mandated by the UN general assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet theirbasic needs and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

Job Summary: The Health Officer provides professional technical, operational and administrative assistance throughout the programming process for the Health Program within the Country Program from development planning to delivery of results, preparing, executing, managing and implementing a variety of technical and administrative program tasks to facilitate program development, implementation, program progress monitoring, evaluating and reporting of results.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

1. Support to program development and planning:

• Carry out /update situation analysis for the program sector/s for development, design and management of health related programs including immunisation and health emergencies. Research and report on development trends (e.g. political social, economic, health) for higher management use to enhance program management, efficiency and delivery of results.
• Actively contribute to the development/establishment of sectoral program goals, objectives and strategies and results-based planning through analysis of health needs and areas for intervention and submission of recommendations for priority and goal setting.
• Offer technical and operational support throughout all stages of programming processes by executing/administering a variety of technical program transactions, preparing materials/documentations and complying with organizational processes and management systems, to support program planning, results based planning (RBM) and monitoring and evaluating results.
• Provide timely technical and operational support throughout all stages of emergency preparedness and response as well as disaster risk reduction programming
• Prepare required documentations/materials to facilitate the program review and approval process.

2. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results

• Work in liaison and collaboratively with internal and external colleagues and partners to discuss operational and implementation issues, provide solutions, recommendations and/or alert appropriate officials and stakeholders for higher-level intervention and/or decision. Keep record of reports and assessments for easy reference and/or to capture and institutionalize lessons learned.
• Keenly monitor and report on the use of sectoral program resources (financial, administrative and other assets), verify compliance with approved allocation/goals, organizational rules, regulations/procedures and donor commitments, standards ofaccountability and integrity.
• Actively participate in monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual sectoral reviews with government and other counterparts to assess programs and to report on required action/interventions at the higher level of program management.
• Report on issues identified to ensure timely resolution by management/stakeholders. Follow up on unresolved issues to ensure resolution.
• Prepare regular/mandated sectoral program/project reports for management, donors and partners to keep them informed of program progress.

3. Technical and operational support to program implementation

• Provide technical and operational support to government counterparts, NGO partners, UN system partners and other country office partners/donors on the application and understanding of UNICEF policies, strategies, processes and best practices on health, including immunisation and emergencies, and related issues to support program implementation, operations and delivery of results.
• Carry out regular program field visits and surveys and/or exchange information with partners/stakeholders to assess progress and provide technical support, take appropriate action to resolve issues and/or refer to relevant officials for resolution. Report on critical issues, bottlenecks and potential problems for timely action toachieve results.

4. Networking and partnership building:

• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with health sector government counterparts and national stakeholders, including the immunisation coordination committees and the National Emergency Task Force, through active sharing of information and knowledge to enhance program implementation and build capacity of stakeholders to deliver concrete and sustainable results.
• Draft communication and information materials for CO program advocacy to promote awareness, establish partnership/alliances and support fund raising for health programs.
• Take part in appropriate inter-agency (UNCT) on health programs to collaborate with inter-agency partners/colleagues on UNDAF operational planning and preparation of health programs/projects and to integrate and harmonize UNICEF position and strategies with the UNDAF development and planning process.
• Research information on potential donors and prepare resource mobilization materials and briefs for fund raising and partnership development purposes.

5. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building:

• Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned for knowledge development and to build the capacity of stakeholders.
• Apply innovative approaches and promote good practice to support the implementation and delivery of concrete and sustainable program results.
• Assist with oversight of research and ensure results are available for use in knowledge products.
• Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders.

Key Result Areas:

• Timely, regular data-driven analysis for planning and results-based management for scaling-up specific Health interventions.
• Technical expertise on specific Health interventions.
• Technical and operational support provided to key government and non-government partners on scaling-up interventions (downstream activities).
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting on specific Health interventions carried out through various field visits, in a timely manner, efficiently, rigorously and transparently in compliance with the established guidelines and procedures.
• Government and non-government recipients accountable for UNICEF specific supply, non-supply and financial assistance.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant for the United Nations UNICEF Health Officer job placement should hold a University Degree in public health/nutrition, pediatric health, family health, health research, global/international health, health policy and/or management, environmental health sciences, biostatistics, socio-medical, health education, epidemiology or other health related sciences is required.
• At least two years of professional experience in public health/nutrition planning and management and/or in relevant areas of maternal and neonatal health care, health emergency/humanitarian preparedness, at the international level and/or in a developing country is required.
• Previous experience in health/nutrition program/project development in UN system agency or organization is an asset.

Personal Competencies:

• Core Values: Commitment, Diversity and Inclusion, Integrity
• Core Competencies: Communication, Drive for Result, Working with People
• Functional Competencies: Formulating Strategies and Concepts(I), Analyzing (II), Applying Technical Expertise (II), Learning and Researching (II) and Planning and Organizing (II)

NB: UNICEF is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff; qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. UNICEF is a smoke free environment.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the United Nations UNICEF in the aforementioned capacity are encouraged to visit the link below to Apply.

Click Here